Food Security in Black Hawk County

Problem:
Hunger and food insecurity exist in Iowa and these issues are more likely if you have lower income and particularly if you are a single female head of household with children, particularly under the age of five. Most indicators on existing food security profiles suggest that residents of Black Hawk County are faring worse than the average Iowan. Many Black Hawk county residents are struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. In terms of employment and earnings, our unemployment rate exceeds the state average, and we had the third highest total of unemployment insurance compensation recipients in 2004. Our earnings and income across the board are less than state averages. Our poverty rate of 12.5% exceeds the state’s rate. Despite low earnings and income, rents in Black Hawk County exceed the state average, and 37.8% of our residents pay at least 35% of their income just to pay their rent. While families are struggling, they are seeking assistance to varying degrees from federal nutrition programs. How are agencies who serve the community faring at providing services to families in need of assistance?

Response:
With funding from the Iowa Department of Public Health-Iowa Nutrition Network, a Study group of participants from 10 agencies (BH county Health Dept, DHS Food Assistance Program, Export Project at UNI, Hawkeye Valley Agency on Aging, ISUE-EFNEP, Jesse Cosby Community Center, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Operation Threshold, Salvation Army, and the Waterloo Community Schools Food Service) was formed with the purpose of examining food security within Black Hawk County, with emphasis on "increasing knowledge of and capacity to respond to food access and food insecurity and hunger concerns in the community." The task of examining food security was conducted by a group of public and nonprofit service providers in Black Hawk County listed above. The assessment involved two phases. First a gathering of general demographic and service information; and second, targeting specific programs or at-risk populations for further study and intervention. To describe people, a profile of food insecurity was created. This profile supplements the ISU “Poverty and Needs Profile: Black Hawk County, Iowa” with pure statistical information. In addition, some geographic information, such as poverty, will be mapped to show county wide distribution. These maps will be used to compare EFNEP data to see if staffing patterns in neighborhoods are adequate and fairly distributed. GIS maps were prepared for each agency, creating a visual picture of services provided.

To describe the food safety net in Black Hawk county, the study group focused on hunger assistance providers within Black Hawk county. The questions of the group concerned what services were being provided and to whom. It was hoped that answers would allow participants to better understand the role of each service provider, determine what if any services were being duplicated, and identify underserved populations and service areas.

Impact:
15.8% of Black Hawk County children receive food stamps. Statewide figures concerning WIC participation indicate that about 46% of infants born in Iowa participate in WIC, and 20% of children between 1 and 5 continue to participate. In addition, 40.8% of our children participated in free or reduced price school meals- 55.2% of Waterloo children participated in 2003, which ranked the district the 8th highest in the state. In terms of our elderly, 11,402 home-delivered meals were provided to seniors in 2005 and more than 250 seniors receive box lunches that contain food staples and meal items.

To answer the questions of the study group, agency fact sheets were prepared that provide both general and practical information about each agency. These sheets provide relatively uniform information so that readers can identify the role of each agency in hunger and nutrition assistance. The services provided include the actual provision of food or food vouchers/benefits, health and nutrition assessments and nutrition education. Also created was a GIS map of the agencies service recipients and service outreach locations.

In November 2005, a group meeting to present findings of the study group was held at the Black Hawk County Health Dept. During that meeting study group participants and stakeholders received notebooks of the GIS maps and study findings, including the food security action plan that was presented as next steps for the county.

A food security action plan was formed with the following goals: Form a Food Security Alliance for Black Hawk County, Establish a Web-based Resource for Food Security Information, Create and Maintain Targeted Information and Marketing Packets, continue to Gather Agency Data, Initiate Analysis of Service Programs and At-Risk Populations. The time-line for the action plan begins with Jan 1, 2006 and runs through 2007.

Contact:
Jill Weber
Iowa State University Extension, Families Nutrition and Health Specialist
3420 University Avenue, Suite B, Waterloo, IA 50701-2008
Phone 319-234-6811; Fax 319-234-5581
Email jrweber@iastate.edu